THE WICKED UNSEEN

A girl is determined to find her missing crush when the town blames the disappearance on Satanists.

When Audre Weaver and her family moved from Brooklyn to a small town in Pennsylvania, she really didn’t fit in—she was sent home from school the first day for violating the dress code with her purple nail polish, and she was taken aback by seeing the Ten Commandments posted in her public high school. Luckily, Audre has befriended David, a fellow outsider who moved there from Puerto Rico, and feels drawn to Elle, the daughter of a local preacher for whom her feelings might be stronger than friendship. Then Elle goes missing, and the dress she was wearing when she disappeared turns up in the woods soaked in blood at what looks like the site of a Satanic ritual. Audre’s father, who is researching the occult for his book, is detained by the police in connection with Elle’s disappearance. Since the police seem satisfied that they have cracked the case, Audre sets out herself to find out what really happened to Elle. Audre is a strong-willed, loyal protagonist who stands up for what she believes. Her friendship with David is warm and natural, as are her relationships with her parents. The gentle queer romance subplot enhances the well-crafted mystery in this novel that explores Satanic panic. Other than brown-skinned David, characters are White.

An absorbing mystery with strong characterization.